Awhile back, I spent a while thinking about and studying what the Bible has to say about beauty. The following is a summary of what I learned. My prayer is that it would bless you in your beauty pursuit.

I think the most important thing that we need to realize is that God must come first, before everything. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” As Christians, we need to be seeking our Savior and His righteousness first, before we even begin to think about our outward appearance. Before we work on our outward appearance, we need to consider questions such as:
Is my heart and soul right with God?
Is He more important to me than my outward appearance?
Does my life match my testimony?

Second, we need to examine our motives. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us that whatever we do, we should do it for the glory of God. In chapter 6, verses 19-20, 1 Corinthians also reminds us that we were bought at a price. My body is no longer mine, but God’s, therefore I must glorify God with my body. My goal should not be to draw attention to myself, but to draw attention to God. If my goal is to draw attention to myself, that’s idolatry – a love of self. We need to ask ourselves questions such as:
What are my motives?
As I exercise/fix my hair/put on makeup/etc., is my goal to draw attention to myself or to draw attention to God?
Is the amount of time I spend on these habits glorifying to God?
Who am I trying to please in my beauty pursuit?

Third, it’s important to realize that a pursuit of outward beauty is not wrong! Many godly women in the Bible were called beautiful (Sarah, Rebekah, Esther, etc.), and many went through beauty treatments. Not only that, when we pursue beauty, we are reflecting God’s desire for beauty. All we must do is gaze at the creation around us for evidence of that. God Himself is called beautiful in Scripture, and in Psalm 27:4, we are called to “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” When we pursue beauty, we reflect the fact that we are made in the image of a God who is the source of all that is beautiful. Pursuing beauty can definitely bring glory to God. Scriptures such as 1 Peter 3:3-4 and 1 Tim. 2:9-10 assume that, as women, we will be adorning ourselves somehow. We must watch, however, that our pursuit of beauty magnifies God and not ourselves.

We also must understand what characteristics should mark our pursuit of beauty. 1 Peter 1:15 exhorts us to be holy or set apart in all of our conduct. Romans 12:1-2 tells us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world. We are not to envy, but to be content in every circumstance. Our beauty pursuit is not to be self-seeking. It, too, is to be holy, set apart for God alone. It is to be free from all selfishness and envy. Scripture also calls us to be humble, which should also affect our pursuit of beauty.

In addition, we must realize that God’s definition of beauty is very different than our culture’s definition of beauty. Our culture tells us to be beautiful because it will get us something. Beauty products are marketed to help us feel better about ourselves. We think that if only we had her body, her hair, her face, if only I was her, everything would be fine. I would feel good about myself. Ultimately, that’s our culture’s definition of beauty: a love of self. Unfortunately, it’s an unattainable standard. No girl that I know is completely happy with every aspect of her body. But thankfully, God’s standard of beauty is completely different. While our culture’s standard of beauty is attainable by almost no one, God’s standard is attainable by all. While our culture’s beauty decreases with age, God’s beauty grows ever brighter as time passes. God’s standard of beauty can be defined as a love for Him and for others.

But what is the practical side of God’s definitions? God tells us in both 1 Peter 3 and 1 Timothy 2 that our adornment, our beauty pursuit should not be external, but internal. We are to be adorning the hidden person of the heart with the NEVER-FADING beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. We are to adorn ourselves with good works and with self-control. And 1 Peter tells us that these things are very precious to God. They are glorifying to God. While it is not wrong to adorn the external, our beauty should ultimately come from our heart, not our outward appearance.

We must also bring glory to God for our external appearance. David praises God in Psalm 139, saying, “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well.” When was the last time that we praised God for the wonderful way that He has made us? Philippians tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Are we giving thanks for the way that God has made us? He has made each one of us beautiful. He made each one of us exactly the way we are so that we might bring more glory to His name. Are we willing to say that He truly knows what He is doing? Do we have that kind of faith?

Ultimately, it all comes down to this: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” – Prov. 31:30. External beauty will eventually fade away. IT is ultimately an empty pursuit. What is truly praiseworthy and attractive is a woman who fears the Lord. That will not fade away with age. Instead, it becomes increasingly beautiful. Not only that, it is very precious in God’s eyes. A man after God’s own heart, a man truly worth attracting, will find a woman like that beautiful, because he sees through the eyes of God.